(The Center Square) – A bill that allows Tennessee’s public schools to display the Ten Commandments passed the House of Representatives on Thursday after a spirited debate.
Smithville Republican Michael Hale’s bill also allows for the display of the Declaration of Independence, the United States Constitution, the Constitution of Tennessee and the Bill of Rights. The bill does not require local school districts to display the documents but gives them “legal protection if they chose to do so,” Hale said.
Democrats pushed back on adding the Ten Commandments. Rep. Justin Pearson, D-Memphis, said he was a Christian but objected to having just one religion in the schools.
“If you want to have religion in schools, there are private schools that kids can to go,” Pearson said. “In fact, this body passed vouchers to allow for kids to go to private religious schools, using public money to do so.”
Displaying the Ten Commandments risks disrespecting many students in the state, said Nashville Democrat John Ray Clemmons.
“I would hate for us to pass something that threatens disrespecting innocent children in the state of Tennessee,” Clemmons said. “And like I said, if you want to send your child to a religious school, by all means go ahead. The state of Tennessee pays for,” he said in reference to Education Freedom Scholarships, known as vouchers.
Unlike the Tennessee bill, Texas and Louisiana lawmakers passed legislation requiring the display of the Ten Commandments in public schools. Both states are challenging court rulings that said the displays are unconstitutional. An appeal by the states was heard in the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals last month.
The Senate version of the Ten Commandments bill, sponsored by Sen. Mark Pody, R-Lebanon, is pending in the Senate Education Committee.
